Perhaps that's the point. What is really being offered in #Lebanon by those proclaiming change is in fact a nostalgic returning to a pre-2005 (if not pre-2000) post-Taif and neoliberal fantasy, only this time w/ an infusion of claims and rationales not openly uttered since 1983.

This government, the cabinet in particular, has done little to address the structural or proximate causes of any of the overlapping crises that characterize #Lebanon and which so many activists and analysis have brilliantly portrayed and analyzed throughout the 2000–2023 period.

There will be a different time and probably a different place to say more about #Lebanon. But for now, it is worth noting the obvious:

And finally, hot of the press is the following statement on the draft law by The Policy Initiative in Lebanon. It provides a succinct yet devastating assessment of the draft law's problems both in framing the problem and in the mechanisms of addressing it. t.co/6bLTq9j6cS

For a different, yet equally damning critique of the draft "gap law" deficiencies, check out this post by Mike Azar:

x.com/AzarsTweets/...

For one terrific analysis, not just of its logistics but how draft gap law reframes the crisis & absolves the banking sector, see Jad Ghosn's aptly titled "A Government Searches for Sovereignty in the South While Forfeiting It in the Face of the Banks"

youtu.be/OGwzSqn-2gQ?...

One cannot overstate the importance of this draft law, both in terms of how long average people have longed for one and in terms of how much of a litmus test it is for the resilience of a particular political economy that long predates the question of Hizballah's arms.

More so is the proposed "financial gap law," supposedly addressing injustices done to "depositors" b/c of banking sector's policies, subsequent financial crisis, & decimation of people's livelihood's through collapse of the lira and denied access to their $ deposits.

Several further developments bare out the lack of genuine reform agenda. One is the proposed 2026 budget, which offers little in the way of any meaningful change:

thepolicyinitiative.org/article/deta...

Some problematically claim there isn't much to do about Israeli aggression (a topic for another time), and so want to put their energies & faith in the potential for meaningful reform. They might want to read this June 2025 piece by Hicham Safieddine: www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/leba...

Israel's continues with its war on #Lebanon & particularly its southern region, including +7500 airspace violations, +2500 ground incursions, +1800 strikes, and continued prevention of +60,000 displaced persons from returning to their homes—all during the "cease fire."